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| It amuses me to no end that I live in a world where McDonald's delivers. Not only that, but they deliver on motorcycles!
I haven't ordered delivery form McD's before, but since I'm not feeling well today and I think it's because of the hostel food, I neither wanted to eat in the hostel nor go all the way to Vasant Vihar to find food. So I ordered in!
Even the phone number itself is a bit of culture shock -- they'd never do this in the US! Can you guess what I'm referring to?
The website made my day. mcdonalds.india.net
Ronald is so darn happy!
And the food? Well, they don't serve hamburgers, but the fries & chicken nuggets are pretty good.
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| Yes, I finally have my scooter! After waiting for three years and dealing with countless auto-drivers & bus trips, I have my own transportation! I have actually had it for a couple weeks, but my internet crashed just before I got it so I haven't been able to upload pictures. And if there are not pics, then what's the point of blogging?
I bought the scooter from a dealership in Faridabad, a city just South of Delhi, as a friend of a friend was working there and could get me a small discount. The friend picked me up in Delhi & we headed off to Faridabad -- a trip of about 45 minutes. This is the longest I've ever been on a motorcycle in one ride, and I felt a lot like when we used to ride the horses all afternoon!
The showroom was decorated for a Hindu holiday (I'm not sure which one); Hindus aren't supposed to buy anything new over this holiday -- which made the dealership very happy to see me!
It was a long debate with myself whether I should buy a motorcycle itself
 The Suzuki motorcycles on display
or a scooter (gearless, with a "step-over"). In this case, a Suzuki Access 125.
The Suzuki Accesses on display
I admit, one of the reasons I chose the Access was because it has a slightly bigger engine (125 cc compared to 109) than the other most popular scooter, and it has a better shock system -- believe me, am I grateful for the better shocks after driving on Indian roads! It was as close to a "real" bike as I could get without getting a motorcycle.
I didn't have a bank account yet, so the transaction was in cash. Let me tell ya', handing over cash is a lot harder than writing a check! I took a pic as I don't know when I'll ever have that many rupees in hand at one time again.
 A lot of rupee notes! Boy, were these hard to let go of!
Then we signed the papers (ok, hours after arriving, then having tea, helmet shopping, checking out the bike, having tea again, waiting for everything to be put into the computer, waiting for the power to come back on, waiting for everything to be put into the computer again, having more tea) and everything was finished! The money was handed over, and the bike was 100% mine! The paperwork included full coverage insurance -- for a whopping $25 a year!
 Signing the paperwork. ... I totally should have gotten a picture of myself signing! *sigh* That's what I get for being the photographer... no pics of me!
"You'll be covered if the bike is lost or stolen," my dealer explained. I pictured the parking lots outside the train station/major venues with hundreds and hundreds of motorcycles packed in together, so close I have no idea how anyone who is parked in the middle ever gets out again. Yep, I could see the bike getting lost! 
Then, I got to go back and get my bike!
 My bike, with 2 km clocked on the odometer & when it still had the plastic covers.
I chose red, of course.
It was a while before I actually drove in Delhi. A group of us went back to the city, and I got to drive through the back roads, but the guys took over when we hit city traffic (& traffic laws). I would have to practice on campus for a couple weeks before I was ready to brave the roads.
And yes, I have a helmet! I also have a jacket and am looking for riding gloves, so that I can have all of the "proper gear."
Any regrets about getting a scooter rather than a motorcycle? Nope! I miss driving with gears, but I'm glad to have one less thing to worry about while figuring out Delhi traffic. And, even better, the scooter has a "boot" (trunk) under the seat large enough for my helmet or groceries. So, unlike those poor guys on motorcycles, I don't have to balance my shopping in front of me or carry it around in a backpack. :) Even better, I can tuck my helmet away & not carry it with me in the shopping mall/movie theatre/restaurant. Yay for da' boot!
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| "While there were preliminary indications that Kashmiri may have been dead, there is now reason to believe that he could be alive," a senior U.S. official told The Washington Times on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing intelligence matters. "It's [Death's?] not always an open-and-shut case."
--Eli Lake, Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/15/dead-terrorist-surfaces-for-media/
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| One of the strangest things about living overseas is suddenly having to become aware of money and economics. At home, of course, you have to budget and find good deals on things you need ... or decide whether or not you need them. But how much things should cost, how much a dollar is worth, and how what you buy will reflect on who and what you are is pretty instinctive. No one buys a Louis Vitton purse just because they got a good price for it and it was convenient to buy it at the shop near your house instead of finding WalMart & having to deal with the crowds there. And you certainly would never carry it while wearing $2 flip-flops from the Dollar store!
Yet, living overseas, you not only need to be aware of the fluctuation of the dollar (the rupees drop in value two years ago reduced my monthly income by almost 15% at one point) but you also have to relearn the cost of things and what people will normally pay for something. For me, it wasn't a huge deal to pay 5% extra for my laundry bucket and clothes pins in order to buy them at a store close by, air conditioned, and everything in one place. But for most Indians it is worth the trouble to find the non-AC open market, to navigate the muddy streets of Munirka, and to haggle in order to save that extra 5 or 10%. Then again, it's a lot easier for them to find the market, whereas it might have been weeks before I could wash my hair, all for the sake of saving $1!
This leads we foreigners to a weird combination of buying things that are too expensive (more than we should have paid for them or top of the line items) and things that are super cheap (so cheap that most Indians would have opted for the more costly version) . This in turn communicates a confusing message about who we are (status), where we belong in society, and how much money we have. Either we have money to throw away, or we're really cheap and stingy, or both at once! Or that, in a country where money determines whether you are middle class or living in the slums, to a foreigner money is something unimportant & trivial.
Being on campus adds a whole new element to the mix as I hob-nob once again with poor college students -- it's been a while since I fell into that category! But, as I am returning to classes after spending several years in the working world, I am not exactly the same level of "poverty" I was as a college student. The fact that I can consider moving off campus is absurd to most of my fellow students -- why pay that kind of money when I can live on campus (in the expensive hostel) for $20 per month? (See the hostel post for why!) Yet, the decision to buy a scooter seemed luxurious and a big expense to me, yet to most students it was obvious: Yes, you should have a scooter if you can afford one, even if you don't leave campus with it!
Yet, one of the students helping me with Hindi said, "But for you, buying a scooter doesn't mean anything, right? I mean, it's only a tiny bit of money for you." (He wasn't trying to be rude ... more trying to figure out these mixed signals.)
Despite the frustration of having to deal with the bus & auto-rickshaws in Bangalore, and having to wait until my third year in India to be able to buy a scooter, I was suddenly thankful that I hadn't been able to buy a bike while I was in Bangalore. Thus, I was able to tell him, "No, no! I've been saving up for nearly two years to have this bike. It was a very big deal to be able to have one, after not having one in Bangalore because I couldn't afford it!"
And suddenly, despite my mixed signals & spending too much or too little on things (when I obviously should have known better!), I made sense again.
Although I will still frown as the rupee rises & the dollar drops even as the Indians celebrate! But, even I knew that 50 rupees per dollar wouldn't last for long & we would settle back down at 45 sooner or later. Se la vie!
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| Today I went exploring/shopping in Saroji Nagar. I have found a couple markets close to campus & close to where my friends live on the other side of the city, but not any really good city markets with lots of cheap stuff. Munirka (very close by) is filthy & I hate going there -- due to construction it is largely covered in mud. And Vasant Vihar has a great little market for chilling & drinking coffee, but as far as shopping goes it's very upscale. What they do have is expensive, & they have very little.
So today I set off for a new market that a couple friends had told me about. I couldn't catch an auto, but the bus went by and I hopped on (literally. He refused to come to a complete stop since I wasn't at a proper bus stand when I flagged him down). Just as I was paying to go to the nearest place I could get an auto, I remembered that the bus goes all the way to Saroji Nagar (SN) -- for only 7 rupees! (about 14 cents). What a deal!
I have officially started Christmas shopping as of today. Unfortunately, so far it's a "two for me, one for you" kind of deal. So I will be very well outfitted & stocked up by the time I finish Christmas shopping. *grin*
I've been told that shopping is much cheaper in Delhi but tailors are more expensive. So far shopping in general is cheaper but I have yet to find the super cheap fabric. And I did find a tailor -- a little more expensive but totally worth it if he's as good as I think he is. The best part is, he really enjoys what he does. I've never met a tailor who was not only willing to do the work but excited about it. Maybe it was that I ended up spending a small fortune when all was said and done, but his "I'll just add a bit of applique here, and do some work here to tie it all together, and use this fabric to make a stripe here for good effect ...." not to mention the "you need something to make you look tall and slim. Just leave it to me!" was very heartening. If he does as well as he says he will, it's well worth the 250 rupees per set. (I know, I know. My Bangalore friends are cringing).
As I was leaving, I tallied up how much I was spending after buying matching fabric to complete a few sets, and being talked into two more sets plus stitching for those. 2500 rupees! Egads. Then again, I reminded myself, $60 for 4 pants & 5 shirts (all custom tailored) isn't too shabby. I would far rather pay the extra and get something I really like than continue being frustrated by cheap tailors who do as little as possible.
Then, per the tailor's guidance, I headed off to find some sewing materials to mend some other things (the clutz that I am, I've managed to poke holes in several garments already...). Rather than a simple thread shop, I found utopia! An arts and crafts store. They have embroidery supplies, beads, drawing & art supplies, and borders for matching an outfit (or basing an outfit on if you find one you really like!) ... as well as a whole shelf full of bronze gods, wedding decorations, underwear, and a counter of beauty products! Ok, so it isn't exactly Hobby Lobby, but you can buy the needles one at a time! How cool is that? :D Let's just say I will be back to this shop quite often. I am already making plans for what to buy next.
I left fully loaded down with a blue WalMart bag full of goodies & took the bus all the way back to campus.
THEN I talked to my scooter dealer & I am going to pick the bike up tomorrow morning! Yay! Oh, and I found out where to buy Merrell shoes in Delhi. That'll be the next shopping trip.
All in all, I would say, a very very good day. :)
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